The rarest Japanese Pokemon cards, a full story, and who’s selling them?

Japanese Pokémon promo cards first appeared in October 1996. The first promo card released was the Jigglypuff and Pikachu 2-card promo set. It was in the November issue of Coro Coro magazine (published on October 15, 1996).

Since then, several hundred Japanese Pokémon promo cards have been released. But who has all the rare Japanese Pokemon promotions? Most of the older and more expensive promo cards can be found in the hands of serious collectors. The Pikachu illustrator, for example, was awarded as a prize in a drawing contest in Japan. Only 6 of them exist in the world. Some of the other extremely rare ones like the Pikachu trophy, Tropical Wind, Secret Super Battle Mewtwo, Tropical Mega Battle, Battle Road 1st Tournament, etc. they can occasionally be found on eBay from sellers such as “Brianjapan”, which probably has the most extensive promotional collection of rare Japanese Pokémon in the world. Some of these cards can range in thousands of dollars.

The original Japanese promo cards were not sequentially numbered. The cards had a number, but there was no organization or structured system. From 1996 to 2001, promo cards were released in different ways, including tournaments, magazines, contests, etc. These cards are very difficult to follow because there was no numbering system.

Eventually, Pokémon promotions began using a numbered system. The black star symbol was introduced in July 2001, with the release of the black star “P” series. “P” stands for “promotion.” This series consisted of 47 cards and lasted until August 2002. Among these cards were JR Railways promo cards, Triple Get lottery cards, McDonalds promos, movie promos and more.

The next series was called “ADV”, which stands for “Advance”. It started in January 2003 and lasted until February 2004. The series consisted of 63 cards. Most of them were Meiji chocolate cards found in chocolate boxes, but they also had McDonalds cards, Shogakukan comic inserts, promotional series 7-11, Battle Road Tournament, and more.

In April 2002, the black star promotional series “PCG” started. This was the largest series to date. It had 154 cards and lasted until July 2006. This series had cards from McDonalds, Meiji Chocolate, Toys R Us, comic book promos, ANA Airlines promos, Gym Challenge tournament, and more.

After a 4-month hiatus, promotions resumed again with the series “DP” which stands for “Diamond and Pearl”. This series began in November 2006, lasted for a year, and ended in December 2008. It consisted of 127 cards, including several Meiji chocolate cards, 5 versions of Pokemon Center 10th Anniversary Pikachu, Battle Road tournament prize cards, cards from the World’s Hobby Fair, McDonald’s Promo Cards, trading cards and more.

In October 2008, there was a bit of an overlap. Some black star “DPt” promo cards were released before the “DP” set was finished. The DPt series started in October 2008 and consists of 51 cards. It ended in July 2009. The set contains Gym Challenge tournament cards, cards from a few different launch tournaments including Bonds to the Ends of Time and Pulse of the Frontier, and some Shogakukan comic promo cards.

In September 2009, the current series of Japanese promo cards began. The series “LP” which means “Leyenda” is currently in circulation and has 57 promos so far to date. This series is mainly made up of tournament promos and some new Daisuki Club promo cards that replaced the old Players Club member cards.

Over the years, many rare Japanese Pokemon promo cards have been produced. Some are in the hands of serious collectors, and others can be found for sale on websites, eBay, and other sources. For those of us who have to COLLECT THEM ALL, it’s an endless quest to get them all.